A taste of M.U.R.D.A.H.

Get off that Hershey Bar and buy a pack of Nerds! encourages DJ Mafioso (David Rodriguez), who claims that the music of his group M.U.R.D.A.H. O.N.E. is anything but the same, tired thing.

“It sounds like rap or hip-hop, but I wouldn’t even call it that,” says DJ Sinista (Randy Narain), his partner in crime and founder of M.U.R.D.A.H. O.N.E. (Music Universal Righteously Delivering a High on New Entertainment) back in the summer of ‘94. M-One, which started as a DJ unit and now encompasses turntablism and lyricism, also features rapper Bambu de Asiatic (Robert Cowan). With the two DJs, Bambu helps create the positive vibes of the group’s reggae-influenced hip-hop.

Beyond the group’s three actual members, M-One cite affiliates far and wide who’ve supported their music-making process. “We have friends who bought equipment for us and then moved away, but they did it just to contribute and be a part,” says Mafioso, who also produces the group’s music. Adds Bambu, “M-One just kept building. Basically, every new friend we make is already a [group] member. We’re all just positive people who’ve come together.”

During shows, the group’s uplifting vibe seeps from their pores and drips into the audience. “It’s people music. We don’t wait for the dance floor. We think, ‘How are we gonna rock this vibe?’” says Sinista, whom local club Karma hires to hype up its Skin parties. “If even one person is in the crowd bopping his head, then we have motivation to perform. We’ll even go up to him and ask ‘What do you want to hear?’”

This type of audience interaction goes to show that M-One are on a different tip, one that has taken them to Detroit and throughout the Southeast. “We have different flavas,” says Mafioso, “so we encourage people to try us.”

M.U.R.D.A.H. O.N.E. perfrom at Karma, Thurs., August 17.